


Booked

by Darkrealmist



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Anime, Apologies, Books, Brother-Sister Relationships, Card Games, Crossdressing, First Meetings, Friendship, Gen, Homelessness, Inspired by Real Events, Mistaken Identity, Nervousness, No Slash, Orphans, Shoplifting, Shopping, Teaching, Trust, Twins, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Wordcount: 100-1.000, Wordcount: 500-1.000, Wordcount: Under 10.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:55:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28786812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkrealmist/pseuds/Darkrealmist
Summary: Rally Dawson enters a bookstore he plans to shoplift. Rua happens to be there with his sister, and does more than cover for him. [AU]
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Rally Dawson & Rua, Rua & Ruka (Yu-Gi-Oh)
Kudos: 1





	Booked

Booked

Author’s Note: Enjoy the story and R&R.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s series.

Summary:

Rally Dawson enters a bookstore he plans to shoplift. Rua happens to be there with his sister, and does more than cover for him.

* * *

The girl didn’t look like she belonged there. Not a negative judgment because his parents were rich or because the girl’s clothes looked worn, but a probing of the facts by Rua while Ruka killed an hour trying to decide which imported magazines to spend her money on.

Ruka had been fussing for a while.

Rua conjectured the unknown girl was accustomed to not being noticed. That, or being noticed for bad reasons or by threatening figures.

“Hi!”

She jumped, backing from the circular shelf to behind the tall, regular shelves so less of her would be visible to the lady at the cash. Placing herself, Rua noted, closer to the escalator in case she had to flee.

“I’m sorry I startled you. I saw you over here and you seemed kinda lost. My name’s Rua!”

“I-I’m Rally…”

“Rally. That’s a pretty awesome name for a girl!”

“I’m…I’m a boy.”

He gnawed the surface of his side teeth. “Oh god, I’m such a dummy! S-sorry! Gee, I’m apologizing to you lots today, aren’t I? I, uh, I know the way it is! People confuse me with my sister all the time! She and I are twins, you see, and I got this ponytail, so from the back, you can’t always tell I’m not a girl!”

Rua stammering and twisting around to casually bounce his ponytail made Rally more guarded, not less.

“Sorry! I get chatty when I’m nervous!”

Rally kept his walls up.

A dirty kid in shabby clothes, alone in a bookstore, wary about the cashier? Rally was probably there to shoplift.

Not a negative judgment. An objective observation.

“Forgot your money, huh? Don’t worry. It happens to the best of us! Or is that to the worst of us? Anyhow, forget it! I’ll pay for it for ya!”

Merchandise in his leaden grip, Rally shook his head strongly. Rua reassured him with a disarming look that said, “I’m not ratting you out. You can trust me. I’m trustworthy. Trust me.”

Even his looks were long-winded!

Rally handed it over.

“The most recent copy of _The Valuable Book_? You like _Duel Monsters_? I play Deformers! Sensei’s always scolding me to stick to the curriculum, but I love Machine monsters!”

Once Rua bought the catalogue the legitimate way, he and Rally parked their butts on the stairs, scanning the full-colour scans of booster sets and promos together.

“This is Polar Star Wicked Dragon Jormungardr! It’s not a Machine, but it has a real neat effect!”

The stray stared vacantly at the _Extra Pack_ card’s text.

“Rally…You can’t read it, can you? You just like the pictures.”

He retreated under his beanie.

“Would you like me to teach you?” Rua proposed sincerely.

“Rua! You were supposed to wait for me by the elevator! If Mama and Papa found out you ran off, they would be furious!”

“Oh heya, Ruka!” her brother welcomed her despite her disappointed tone. “Ruka, Rally. Rally, Ruka. She’s my sister. He’s my new friend.”

“Hi, how are you? Now Rua, I’m going down a level to buy shoes.”

“So go then! We’ll be right here! Need me to carry any more stuff, give me a shout!”

Ruka dumped her purchases on him.

“Okay, where were we? DARK, Dragon. I’ll teach you the characters for those first. They’re easier.”

On his own on the streets, Rally never had a friend. He’d walked into the store to steal a book…but made off with something far grander in value.


End file.
